Monday Musings

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

My son made his first Confession this weekend. He said, "It felt good. It makes you feel clean inside, and like a weight is off of you." He said he actually enjoyed it. Good for him. I was still nervous though. I hope he keeps his enthusiasm.

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My five-year-old daughter thought confession was OK (of course, she didn't have to go - she just sat in the pew and looked at books). But what she really liked was Mass earlier in the day. She loved the "pink" vestments that father wore. I told her they are actually "rose" colored. It didn't really matter what I had to say: "No Dad... THAT is pink!"

(By the way, the books that my kids look at and read during Mass are by a priest named Fr. Lawrence Lovasik. I highly recommend them. They can be ordered online from many Catholic sites or at a local Catholic bookstore.)

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In honor of Gaudete Sunday:

Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete.

Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus:

Dominus enim prope est.

Nihil solliciti sitis:

sed in omni oratione petitiones

vestræ innotescant apud Deum.

Benedixisti Domine terram tuam:

avertisti captivitatem Jacob

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.

Let your forbearance be known to all,

for the Lord is near at hand;

have no anxiety about anything,

but in all things, by prayer and supplication, 

with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. 

Lord, you have blessed your land;

you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like - I'll serve up more next Friday...

Einstein, Imagination and the New Translation - "Of course it’s good that everyone understands what’s going on, but the good is the enemy of the best, and mere intelligibility is not really what the liturgy is all about."

G.K. Chesterton and the Use of the Imagination - "The right use of imagination then is to be lawful, not lawless. To be obedient, not disobedient. To use our creativity for worshiping the Creator, not for defying him."

When a Catholic parish closes, what do they do with the tabernacle, statues and windows? - "The practice of reusing religious items is a common one among Catholics."

Our Heritage of Beauty - "So great is the schism between faith and faithlessness in art after the seventeenth century that you might suppose that modern artistic formation consciously rejects belief in God." [Featuring an artist who harkens back to a better time in Catholic art.]

Seven Reasons to Own Your Own Missal - "Since the allowance of the vernacular in the Mass following Vatican II, the idea of people having their own Roman Missal has fallen into relative obscurity."

Star Wars and the History of Vatican II - I may not agree with everything in this piece, but this line is priceless: "Jar-Jar Binks represents the really annoying, naive, wild, and even ethnic influences that drizzled into the liturgy and minds of Catholics and consequently empowered modernism to take more control...Jar-Jar is evil."

Vatican university hosts unusual tattoo conference - "Tattooed mummies in ancient Egypt, Crusaders who branded their foreheads with crosses, and New Zealand's inked Maori warriors were fodder for an unusual conference at a Vatican university Tuesday on the role of tattoos in shaping identity."

Just a Dad Playing Hero - "I’ve played Barbies.  I’ll admit it. Don’t you dare judge me.  I’m a father of four girls. I had no choice."

Jimmy Fallon on His Catholicism - [A fallen away Catholic on how the Mass has changed and why he hasn't gone back.] "I want the old way...like straight up, just Mass Mass."

Busy week - short list. Feel free to add more links in the comments section below... 

Monday Musings

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...


Still loving the new translation. It might take a few more weeks to get the hang of all the new parts we have to say... especially, "And with your spirit." So far I have messed it up at least once at each Mass I've been to. But i know I'm not alone.

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A friend recently posted the following on their Facebook page:

"Homosexuality is found in over 450 species.
Homophobia is found in only one.
Which one seems unnatural now?"

My reply:
Many species also eat their young, kill their mates, and allow their wounded to be taken by predators. These are all "natural" things. But just because something happens in nature doesn't mean that humans should follow the example of these animals. I agree that homophobia is wrong... but that doesn't mean that homosexuality is just another form of "normal" for the human species.

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Tomorrow is St. Nicholas' Day...
Don't forget to put your shoes out tonight!

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like - I'll serve up more next Friday...

Who’s Actually Upset with the New Roman Missal? - "Given the absence of any really significant or coherent opposition within the Church itself (and a laudable open-mindedness towards the changes even by ‘many’ clerics and laypeople who were formerly skeptical) it is becoming increasingly apparent that the only dead-set opponents of the changes are those outside the Church: ex-priests, professional critics, or reporters captivated by the prospect of another internal fight in the Catholic Church."

The Four Liturgists of the Apocalypse - [A great piece by Jimmy Akin about the new Mass translation. It opens with a tongue-in-cheek spoof on the Book of Revlation.] "...I saw that the Roman Missal they had was still in its shiny, new shrinkwrap. And behold, there were seven seals upon its shrinkwrap..."

This one is pretty funny too: Nuevo Trad Catholics Revolt

Bishop’s decree: Stop holding hands during the Our Father - "Only the priest is given the instruction to “extend” his hands. Neither the deacon nor the lay faithful are instructed to do this." [Read the bishops whole decree here]

For old Mass books, tradition decrees burial or 'cremation' - "The bishops' liturgy office recommends 'burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery,' after the switch to a new liturgical translation on Nov. 27."

A Consideration of St Cyprian’s Teaching against the Fear of Death - "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God…..Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

Atlantis rises: US seminaries are changing - "I’m tremendously impressed with the quality of the candidates, their zeal... We’re seeing a real renewal of the priesthood."

Justice requires fundamental economic equality, not absolute economic equality - "When some folks in the Occupy Movement decry the disparity of wealth, they err if they think unequal wealth is itself unjust. Different activities can justly have different economic value, even vastly different economic value, and thus people can justly receive vastly different incomes or vastly different rates of income growth."

Are we sleepwalking through the great infanticide? - "Is it just me, or is there something sickly schizophrenic about a society that huffs and puffs in outrage at the killing of a baby in the light of day, but quietly supports it when it happens in the darkness of the womb?"

Vatican says seat-belt complaint drew papal smile - "...the Vatican was 'grateful for the affectionate concern for the Pope's safety,' but added that the complaint did not seem to reflect much flexibility in interpreting the meaning of the law."

The Robopocalypse Will Be Brought to you by Harvard - "Harvard researchers just announced that they've built a flexible robot that can crawl and slither under a pane of glass and into your home..."

8 Super-Simple Ways to Celebrate Advent - "For fellow converts or anyone else who needs some baby steps to get started celebrating Advent, here are eight of my favorite ideas from my readers..."

The miracle of A Charlie Brown Christmas - "The reason A Charlie Brown Christmas has endured is because the message is timeless- the true meaning of Christmas, which the elites had a problem with even 50 years ago."

The Seven Worst Christmas Specials…Evah! - [Funny!]

 Feel free to add other links in the Comments section below...

Quote of the Week

"The only true riches are those that make us rich in virtue. Therefore, if you want to be rich, beloved, love true riches. If you aspire to the heights of real honor, strive to reach the kingdom of Heaven. If you value rank and renown, hasten to be enrolled in the heavenly court of the Angels."

- Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Monday Musings

 A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

New translation was great this weekend. Of course there were a few glitches: slipping into the old responses out of habit. But with more practice we'll soon feel more comfortable with it. The overall effect was more reverent and solemn. The Eucharistic prayer had more "verbal weight" - if that makes sense. But one of my favorite parts of the Mass was when many people in the congregation struck there breasts three times during the words "...through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault..." It seems that changing the words has affected our actions as well. Overall, I am very pleased with the results. Hopefully, with time, it will only get better.

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Just discovered I received a comment on an older post about Mormonism. You can read the original post here, and then click below to see the comment. I don't know if it will spark a conversation, but I admire the person who made the comment. He is a 13 year old  LDS member who came to the defense of his church. Bravo!

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Advent has begun. Inevitably, our kids think of Christmas and Santa and presents. Our daughter (five years old) has the right idea though. She said, "I'm going to make a birthday card for Jesus every year for the rest of my life. Then when I get to heaven I can give him all of the cards."

Maybe we should all do that this Advent.

Quote of the Week

"Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs."

- Didache [The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles]